Company Case 14

OfferUp: A Mobile Solution for the Mobile Era

Synopsis
When people think of buying and selling things online locally, most think
automatically of Craigslist, the classified ad marketplace that has dominated that
business for the past two decades. But as the rest of the world has gone mobile, Craigslist
has not. In fact, the familiar but cluttered collection of blue hyperlinks has changed very little
over the years.
Enter OfferUp—a relatively new mobile app for buying and selling items that is
taking the digital marketplace by storm. OfferUp is challenging not only Craigslist as the
go-to platform by which individuals and businesses sell goods and services in local
markets, it’s also starting to challenge the likes of eBay and even Amazon by flexing its
muscles beyond local market boundaries. Unexpectedly, OfferUp now rivals the most
popular social media apps in terms of time spent by users.

Teaching Objectives

The teaching objectives for this case are to:

1. Illustrate how quickly the Internet changes and how possible it is for startup
companies to have such a huge influence.
2. Introduce elements of ecommerce and show which factors have the greatest
influence on fueling ecommerce.
3. Fuel discussion as to how companies can take advantage of an ever-increasing
palette of Internet tools as a means of integrating their brands into the social
structure and conversation of consumers.
4. Analyze the nature of customer value when it comes to direct and e-marketing.

Discussion Questions

1. As a mobile marketplace, how does OfferUp provide value to shoppers? Sellers?

Shopper benefits:
o Attractive User Interface and Experience
o Window shopping virtually
o Social media supported account
o Trustable transaction
o Customized and Personalized profile account
o Interactive tool by communicative chat feature
o Satisfying shopper by Person to person base feature

Seller benefits:
o Quickly status updated overview by mobile app based

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 o Simple content post and free charge of ads
o Gain more potential targeted audience
o Easy going feature app
o Up to date amount of product availability
o High security system
o Customized product appearance

OfferUp has a better price rather than competitor. Due to this platform
is community base where people know the appropriate price for
particular product with specific specification. Besides, this platform
provides efficient handling in term of shipping and administration cost

2. Analyze OfferUp’s business model relative to the different forms of

digital andonline marketing covered in this chapter.
Digital marketing – OfferUp is potential marketplace, serving many of
products with many kinds of specification based on audience need and
directly targeted on specific community. This platform acts as the
bridge for community by the way of digital marketing platform

Mobile marketing – OfferUp provide as mobile friendly user. Where it

sincronized to many of operation system in mobile phone. By this
condition, it will increase the comfort of user to use this app wherever
and whenever.

Social media marketing – OfferUp could be optimized on the

social media due it featured that particular account will
synchronize to social media platform which this opportunity will
increase more audience on cross segment

3. Describe the value of OfferUp to national brands and retailers as a

channel for mobile marketing. Does OfferUp also pose a threat these
companies?

Benefits:
o Access to a large shopping audience that is looking for a different
experience
o Enhance the target audience without barrier on place
o Customized targeted audience based on customer interest, behaviour,
and specific persona

Costs:
o Lower selling fees
o Buyer pays for shipping

The threat will come from the sustainable competitive advantage. Where

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 the majority effect from the seller and buyer on particular platform. The
more interaction and transaction, the more traffic will be. Because this
platform is community based, so that the engagement of community will be
the threat of this platform. When community feel comfort on this platform,
then this platform will more longer survive. When community could find
better platform then they will move to other platform. The key point of
community’s comfort mostly in User Interface and User Experience

4. Compare the competitive relationship between OfferUp and LetGo to that

of Uberand Lyft. Based on this comparison, what does the future hold for
OfferUp?

The comparison between OfferUp and LetGo significantly on how

trustable this platform to user. Even though thpse platform is similar in
term of service, but OfferUp will be more sustainable in term of the
investment perspective. There have been many of investor invests more
on this platform so that this platform categorized as the hottest start up
based on Forbes rank. This indicate that the trust of people not only
from the user perspective but also people who invest on both platform.

5. Do you agree with Nick Huzar that OfferUp can succeed without taking
businessaway from Craigslist? Explain.

Yes it is, currently both platform have their own target audience and both
of them have their own characteristic. OfferUp will go with people with
simple and comfortable user experience where Craiglist is old school
people who search on product locally. As the times goes by, OfferUp will
be more sustainable because of the generation audience will change in
the future
Teaching Suggestions

Divide the class into three sections, 1) OfferUp, 2) LetGo, and 3) Craigslist.
Provide a listof a few items for each to shop for. Have them search and price
options, considering suchnon-monetary factors as connecting with the seller and
pickup/delivery methods. Have people in each section report on their experience.

This case was designed for use with Chapter 14. This case can also be used with
the marketing strategy chapter (Chapter 2), the marketing environment chapter
(Chapter 3),and the retailing chapter (Chapter 11).

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